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Alaska: Minimum Wage Increase to $8.75 Delayed Until February

Alaska's minimum wage is scheduled to rise by $1 from $7.75 to $8.75 an hour on Feb. 24, 2015.

The increase, originally slated to be voted on in the August 2014 primary and to take effect on Jan. 1, was approved by voters in November 2014. Ballot Measure 3 was pushed to the November ballot because the state legislative session ran long. Alaska’s constitution states that ballot measures must take effect 90 days after election results are certified, so the new minimum wage will go into effect on Feb. 24.

A second increase, from $8.75 per hour to $9.75 per hour, is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2016.

At least 16,000 Alaska workers will benefit directly from the first minimum wage hike, while another 8,000 to 10,000 are expected to benefit indirectly through rising wage scales, according to the spokesman for Alaskans for a Fair Minimum Wage. Roughly 48,000 workers statewide are expected to be affected by the increases over the next two years.

Rosemarie Lally, J.D., is a freelance legal writer and editor based in Washington, D.C.